A year ago, the large billboards - five in the Roanoke area - and the strategically placed bar coasters and napkins got attention for the pointed question they asked: "Isn't she a little young?"

Guys, you should know the answer if your "girlfriend" is 13, and you're, say, 25. If that's you, take this personal: Stop robbing the cradle. And if your "relationship" with her is sexual, you're breaking the law. Claim you didn't know how old she was or that consensual sex with her was against the law? Consider this your epiphany. As Assistant Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Alice Ekirch said last week, "Ignorance of the law and her age is no defense."

The billboards that made the blunt inquiry last summer are down, but the ongoing statewide public awareness campaign by the Virginia Department of Health continues to put out the crucial message that sex with an underage girl is a big no-no.

In Virginia, anyone 18 and older having sex with a 13- or 14-year-old faces a felony charge, which carries a punishment of two to 10 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine. An adult having sex with someone age 15, 16 or 17 faces a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Robert Franklin, who is coordinating the state's public awareness campaign against adult men pursuing teenage girls, said the billboards asked a question, rather than making a statement, because it would provoke thought and lead to conversation.

The state has launched the conversation, and the public needs to start engaging in it. We need to stop just passing judgment on so-called "fast girls" while letting the guys slide.

Young girls barely out of puberty don't have the maturity and decision-making ability - even if they think they do - of older women. That makes them more vulnerable to coercion and manipulation, particularly by a much-older man.

Equally worrisome for the state health department, and should be to society as a whole, is that young girls in Virginia are having babies by older men.

According to Franklin, who is the state health department's male-outreach coordinator for sexual violence prevention, Virginia reported 2,684 births to 14- and 15-year-olds between 1999 and 2003. In 72 percent of the cases, no information on the father was listed.

However, of cases in which the state could document the age of the father, 64 percent of the relationships would have been a felony at the time the girl became pregnant.

Ekirch said she has successfully prosecuted men in about a half-dozen underage sex cases in the past several months. She stressed that she has no idea whether the state's campaign has anything to do with the rash of cases.

Generally, parents or guardians of the girls report the relationships to authorities, Ekirch said. After detectives conduct an investigation, charges are filed.

Ekirch hears firsthand the thinking of both the young victims and the men who prey on the girl's immaturity. Many of the girls, Ekirch said, come from broken homes or troubled backgrounds, and often, the girls aren't very cooperative with authorities.

"They feel as though they're in love," Ekirch said. "There's this emotional attachment."

As for the men, they often claim they didn't know the girl was a minor. Certainly, many young teens dress provocatively or engage in activities beyond their age, but I can't let guys use that as an excuse.

I'll mimic my father's advice: "Somebody's got to use some sense." And in this case, the public should expect that to be a 20- or 30-something-year-old man, as opposed to a 13-year-old girl.

The next phase of the state's public awareness campaign will feature a series of radio ads scheduled to air next spring. In the meantime, Franklin continues to provide training for adults who work with youth. He also is in the process of unveiling a program targeted at teens that encourages healthy relationships.

Despite the state's use of different strategies to get the message across, the fine print of last year's billboard should continue to resonate: "Sex with a minor. Don't go there."

Shanna Flowers' column appears

Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.